Beach Babies

Though I've lived in Ohio most of my life, I was born in Southern California. I spent much of the first years of my life at the beach - Naked, if you really want to know.

I feel at home on the beach, and I was eager to see how my children would react to the beach in Mazatlan. Though my son was a bit hesitant around the waves, and though my daughter did a face plant in the sand, they both loved the beach. Loved it.

I couldn't be happier to see my babies enjoying the beach. Oh, Lord, why must Ohio be so far from the ocean?

What about you, are you a beach bum at heart?

Mazatlan or bust

Our family vacation started with several firsts . . . a first vacation for us as a family, a first plane ride for both Henry and Harper, and a first trip to Mexico for Matt and the kiddos.

Considering we were up before 4am and traveled 2,500 miles in one day, the kids were fantastic. It was tremendous help to have my parents and sister on the plane with us, and the bags stuffed with toys and snacks came in quite handy.

Though traveling with little ones is exhausting, it was actually fun to watch Henry discover the wonders of flying, especially because he absolutely loves airplanes. And minus a couple in-air diaper blowouts, Harper was content on our laps, playing and napping.

The dreaded day of travel turned out to be a great start to our amazing vacation.

What about you, have you had success traveling with little ones?

We are home.

Pictures coming soon.

In the meantime, I'll be moisturizing my tan, speaking in Spanglish, and contemplating a serious detox (I easily ate my weight in burritos while in Mazatlan).

Hasta luego, amigos.

The best year of my life.

Originally posted December 31, 2009 . . . My last post of 2009. And yes, 2009 really was the best year of my life. But something tells me that 2010 will be even better. God is so good like that.

And if I had to pick just one day, this would be the best of 2009:

Thank you, Lord, for the best year of my life. I am so, so, so grateful.

We still love you.

Originally posted December 11, 2009 . . . I love this picture of Jaeger. And though he sends me over the edge all too often, I really do love this dog.

I promise, Jaeger, we haven't forgotten about our first love.

Wrinkles & Peach Fuzz

Originally posted on August 26, 2009 . . . These pictures are really not good for my ovaries. I absolutely LOVE the itty-bitty baby stage. LOVE it. I am so not ready for another one, but man, I look at these pictures and start secreting pheromones.





Her little wrinkly parts, complete with a delicate layer of peach fuzz, are my latest addiction. I simply cannot get enough.

He's got tricks.

Originally posted on May 6, 2009 . . . I could watch this video all day and cry and cry and cry. His face. His curls. His waddle. His expression. His cheeks. His smile. I can't take it.

Why is raising a small child so much like training a dog? When baby performs one of his tricks, we go hog wild. It's gosh darn ridiculous.

So without any further introduction, I proudly present to you our ever-talented little man and his bag of tricks.

I'm all verklempt, aren't you?

"So what do you do all day?"

Originally posted on March 4, 2009 . . . I look at this post and think, "I really am not ready for Harper to be mobile. Not ready at all."

I know that is a common question asked of many stay-at-home-moms.

To answer that question, here is a brief peek at what my son does all day.







Consequently, I'm either chasing, cleaning, or rescuing my day away.

And I only have one child.